A terrorist suspect accused of being a key al-Qaeda financier was named yesterday as Mohammed al-Ghabra by the Supreme Court in London. In its first ruling, the new court agreed that the media should be able to identify one of four men appealing against orders freezing their assets.

All the men, suspected of supplying funds to terrorists, were identified by initials. But the seven-strong panel of Supreme Court justices ruled that the anonymity order on Mr al-Ghabra, formerly known as G, should be lifted.

The decision came after a challenge by six media organisations, including The Times. Geoffrey Robertson, QC, for the media groups, told the justices that the anonymity orders had been first granted without the media having been notified or given the chance to make representations as they were entitled to do under the Human Rights Act. The names of the men were newsworthy and, in any case, people who initiated court proceedings should expect their names to be known, he said.

Tim Owen, QC, representing three of the men, said that the case involved “fundamental constitutional issues” about the power of the government executive to make laws without parliamentary debate or scrutiny.

Mr al-Ghabra, 29, from Forest Gate, East London, who has British citizenship, has been named by the US as a terrorism recruiter and fundraiser. He is accused of keeping contact with senior al-Qaeda figures in Pakistan and of having links with the 21/7 bombers. The other appellants will have their orders reviewed this week.

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